Friday, 30. June 2023 | EHC Red Bull München's CHL opponent Vítkovice Ridera in portrait
Back in the top class: Portrait of Vítkovice Ridera// CHL - PORTRAITRed Bull München begins its CHL-journey this year in the east of our neighboring country, the Czech Republic. On September 1, we start the new season at Vítkovice Ridera. The team from the city of Ostrava is celebrating its comeback on the European stage.About three kilometers south of the center of Ostrava lies the district of Vítkovice with its population of just over 8,000. The main focus of the region is the steel industry. The "Vítkovice Ironworks" with its blast furnaces has even been a registered cultural monument of our neighboring country since 2002.
Numerous hiking trails run around the area. And of course, the Czech cuisine is also tempting here. By the way, it's only about 40 kilometers to Třinec, where our boys will play on September 3. If you want, just combine the two games and the first CHL away trip of the season is perfect.
On the right track
The local ice hockey club was founded back in 1928, at that time still under the name SSK Vítkovice. The club can thus look back on almost a century of club history. Over the years, the name changed several times, followed by the renaming to HC Vítkovice Ridera in 2016. So far, there are two national championship cups (1952 and 1981) in the trophy cabinet.
The last title was 42 years ago. Last season, however, the founding member of the highest Czech league was closer than it has been in a long time. Second place after the Extraliga main round was the best finish in many years.
Both at home in the "Ostravar Aréna" (10,004 seats) and away from home, they had the second-best points tally. 159 goals scored were the best offensive score, and with only 122 goals conceded, the team was also among the top teams in this statistic. In the playoffs, the team made it all the way to the semifinals. Against Mountfield HK, the Blue-Whites were already trailing 0:3 in the best-of-seven series before Vítkovice tied it up at 3:3. Game seven was lost 1:2 in overtime at home. Curiously, five of the seven duels went into overtime or the penalty shootout.
A new start
The second place in the table means that the East Czechs are back in the Champions League for the first time in seven years. Overall, they will be making their fourth appearance at European level from September.
They were particularly strong in the 2016/17 season, reaching the quarterfinals. So far, Vítkovice has appeared in 22 games in the top flight. Eight victories are offset by 14 defeats. With 52:49 goals, the goal balance is quite even.
Interview Markus Eisenschmid
// DEL - Porträt
Munich's Toni Söderholm expects a demanding game against the CHL returnee. "Vitkovice is an unpleasant opponent. We will meet a physical and robust team, which is also technically well trained and counter-attacking," analyzes our coach.
"We are looking forward to every opponent"
The boss on the Vitkovice board since the end of 2020 is the Czech Miloš Holaň. As a defenseman, the now 52-year-old even made it as far as the NHL (Philadelphia Flyers, Anaheim Ducks). The anticipation for the upcoming competition is huge. "We have the opportunity to play great games against the best European teams. We are looking forward to every opponent," the coach is quoted as saying in the club media.
Aleš Stezka will no longer be involved. The number one of the last two years left for the Seattle Kraken in the best league in the world. In his place came goalkeeper Matěj Machovský from playoff semifinal opponents Mountfield. The backbone of the defense is made up of Czech players who have a lot of experience. These include, for example, 34-year-old Juraj Mikúš, who collected 28 points. US American Willie Raskob (six goals, 25 assists) and Canadian newcomer with NHL experience Stuart Percy (most recently HC České Budějovice, 22 scorer points) are also offensively oriented.
In attack, almost everything runs through the Czech-Latvian duo Dominik Lakatoš and Roberts Bukarts. The two wingers have combined for 45 goals and 59 assists.
The best-known name is probably Peter Mueller. The offensively strong veteran from the USA played almost 300 NHL games in his career, most of them for the Arizona Coyotes and Colorado Avalanche. Jan Káňa moved to Ostrava from league rival HC Olomouc. Vítkovice also relies almost exclusively on Eastern European forces in the forward lineup.
Vítkovice Ridera
Year of foundation: 1928
Club colors: blue, white
League: Tipsport Extraliga
Venue: Ostravar Aréna
Capacity: 10,004
Head coach: Miloš Holaň
Achievements: 2x Czech champion (1952, 1981), 1x CHL quarterfinal (2016).
